Camp Rock Best Friends Forever Pt 1
by malexandria
Summary: Mitchie has a dark past that may put her in danger if her relationship with Shane Gray becomes public. Can they keep it a secret? How will everyone at school react to the new more confident post Camp Mitchie? Everything at CR happened, but with a twist - Mitchie and Shane were already friends. Lots of extended multi-show cameos, but not really a crossover. Told from Sierra's POV.


Camp Rock – Best Friends

This is an AU Story. Everything that happened at Camp Rock happened but with my unique twist – I'm not going to delve too much into it because I'm leaning towards during a prequel. Mitchie has a dark past that would put her in danger if her relationship with Shane Grey becomes public so can they actually keep their relationship secret, what's going to happen when it comes out? Everyone reacts to the new more confident post Camp Mitchie. This story is told primarily from Sierra and other people's point of view.

Features lots of fun cameos/crossovers – however they won't play a MAJOR part in the story, they just happen to be Mitch's friends/family. I'm curious to see how many crossovers I can throw in one story before I completely break it J

The thing about the Bday is basically my life growing up being an August baby, I never had a proper birthday party (whaaaa) and was always the "youngest" in class. I was able to celebrate my 21st with a bunch of friends who ended up staying at school that particular summer. Bar crawled till I dropped! J

I feel like I should have aged the characters by 3 or 4 years to really make a lot of the things that happen in this story make a lot more logical sense – from a timeline perspective, but I was ½ way done when I realized the flaw. As it is everything is pretty condensed.

Mitchie 16 (Aug)

Nate 17 ( April)

Shane 18 (May)

Sierra 16 (October)

Miley 16 (September)

Cait 17 (May)

Shelby 16 (September)

Jason 18 (November)

Camp Rock occurs in June – mid July. I messed up my tenses a couple of times in the story, so unless otherwise noted it's going to be from Sierra's POV.

Sierra's POV

It had been a crazy summer. I spent the last month of school trying to convince my best friend Mitchie to go to Camp Rock. She didn't think she was good enough to attend and her parents can't afford to send her. So I just let the subject drop. Her lack of self-confidence and "aloofness" drives me batty sometimes. She has more going for her than some of us.

Her three best friends since childhood are the most popular people in School, plus she has me. I'm just the resident geek with frilly, untamable hair who would do anything to become popular.

Mitch could be queen bee of this School so easily, but she has a tendency to go all emo and doesn't like dealing with people so we frequently end up sitting alone in the Cafeteria or out in the quad by our favorite tree.

No matter what we say, she always believes every negative thing everyone else says about her. Did I mention she is also beautiful? Not classically beautiful like a Tess Tyler (the current Hollywood It girl for bad behavior) or Ashley Tisdale or even Christian Wilde's new girlfriend but she definitely has that intangible quality and that big weird smile of hers lights up her entire face and body.

Kyle and Craig have asked us to sit with them on several occasions but Mitchie just can't deal with Kelsey and her clique harassing and teasing us afterwards. Yes, they pretend to be nice to us while Kyle, Craig and Shelby (The School's head Cheerleader) are around but the minute they leave, they make our lives a living hell. Well Mitchie's, they tend to ignore me. Shelby doesn't do anything to stop the harassment because her dad's biggest client is Kelsey's father.

Part of the reason Kelsey hated Mitchie is, the very thing that drives me and a lot of others crazy, Kelsey knows Mitchie has potential and if she ever realizes it, Kelsey will become a nobody in this school. Kelsey moved to town about the same time that I did and because her family were very wealthy and her father has run for Congress a couple of times (failed both times, thank god – he's a nutbag) she thinks she owns the school and town. Since we live in a fairly middle class town where everyone has the same basic backgrounds, our school really isn't as cliquish as most.

Even though she has a boyfriend, Kelsey always had a thing for Craig but Mitchie told Craig to stay away from her. Everyone, but Mitchie, knows he's had a crush on her for years. Mitchie and Craig (and his sister Shelby) have known each other since her family first moved here. It is hard not to love Craig; he is a gorgeous boy whore who flirts with everyone. He also happens to have a very sweet, protective, side that is always on full display around Mitchie and Shelby.

To the outside world he is the typical Captain of the Football team who acts like he doesn't have a care in the world, but he's never been a bully and his best friend is the sweet lovable nerd Kyle. I know that I'll never be as close to Mitchie as she is to Craig and Shelby - I accept that. They always include me in whatever they are doing, still, it is hard not to feel left out sometimes but Kyle is always there for me. Mitchie also has a tendency to, as she calls it, "compartmentalize" her friendships. She's the only one I know that is capable of complaining about being a loner, even though she has a great group of friends who she is really close to but we rarely interact with each other.

I'm friends with the three Amigos because we go to the same school but I didn't find out until last year, by accident, that she had a few other secret friends – the 3 Amigos don't even know and she swore me to secrecy. I'm still kind of upset with her. Why?

Her truest bff is Hannah freaking Montana – yes, that Hannah Montana and remember when I mentioned current teen superstar Christopher Wilde? Yeah, she's really close to him as well. Before Mitchie moved here, she, Hannah and Christopher were the original three Amigos. Mitchie's awesome parents grew up with Hannah's parents and they did everything together. So naturally their kids had to be close as well.

When Hannah's mother died, her father quit the music business to raise them. He couldn't handle living in the town they grew up in so they moved away to Malibu, CA. Shortly later Hannah entered the music business and the rest is history. Since Hannah and Chris were close, Hannah helped Chris get a record deal. Mitchie's family ended up moving here. However they still email, text and visit each other all the time.

I have only been Mitchie's neighbor for 5 years but she is like my sister and it pains me to see her ignore her potential. She has severe stage fright and won't let Hannah help her get a record deal – her voice and song writing is amazing. She even helped Hannah write a couple of her hits.

I've seen her cutting and her manic depressive days – which she hides from everyone except me. Something really bad happened to her as a child, but she doesn't talk about it and keeps it bottled up. I think the 3 Amigos know, but won't say anything to anyone.

So here we are, Mitchie's 16th birthday. It should be a milestone day for her, but it isn't and while she never really gets upset, I could tell last night that she was this time.

Her birthday is always a bit difficult because it's in the middle of August and everyone is usually traveling with their family. Since her birthday is in the summer, she is always one of the "youngest" people in our year, but it has benefits, she'll be able to graduate at 17 as this is our Junior year and be done with College by the time she's 21. I'm a geek, I care about education, sue me.

The 3 Amigos normally throw a big bash at their house in September since Shelby's birthday is in late September and then her parents and Mitchie's parents have a small get together to make up for missing Mitchie's birthday.

Since I'm always around it's become a tradition that Mitchie and I spend the day together. I just got back from traveling with the parents yesterday and spent most of the summer at language camp where I learned 2 new languages and about various cultures - it was a blast, so I have not heard from Mitchie at all this summer. I felt bad for abandoning her and with all of her friends gone; I knew she'd be especially lonely this year.

I picked her up bright and early for our traditional all you can eat breakfast and spa day. She was wearing a long sleeve summer shirt and I just looked at her. "Nothing is wrong…" She said. I didn't believe her for a second. When I got into the car, I grabbed her arm and pulled up her arm and saw the signs of freshly healed wounds.

I got angry with her, "What are you doing? You promised us that you would be able to handle being alone this summer!" She looked like she was about to cry and I just sighed, "Mitchie, you have to stop doing this to yourself. We all love you."

Mitchie looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, "I know that now. I really did have an amazing summer. I went through a minor dark period where something happened, but I promise, it only lasted a few days and I had some really good friends make me see what a fool I was being. It won't happen again."

"Mitchie, you've made this promise before, you can't do this whenever things get a little tough or don't go your way. Wait? What friends?" I was shocked Mitchie doesn't make friends, like I said she keeps to herself…

Mitchie just had a dreamy expression on her face and said, "You'll meet them soon enough, but yes, friends…" Then she screamed really happily in the car, "I GOT TO GO TO CAMP ROCK!" I almost wrecked my car, "Are you serious?"

"Yep! My mom got a job as the Camp Caterer. So I got to attend at a discounted rate. It was so amazing! I tried calling you, but there was no signal up there. I'm still trying to process everything that happened. I met the most amazing people there and I've learned something – I'm tired of hiding who I am. People either like me or they don't. I'm not going to let Kelsey or anyone like that get to me anymore." She said happily.

I smiled widely at her and hugged her tight, but part of me felt a little hurt, knowing that this may be the end of our friendship.

She didn't miss my expression, "Si, you are one of my best friends, no matter where my life takes me or who my friends are, I want you to always be there. If I get wrapped up in my music and new friends, I trust you to pull me back and not let me get big headed or become a jerk like Kelsey. That's what Lola and Mike do for Hannah. I expect nothing less from you." She said with a confidence she never had before.

I hugged her tight, so happy to hear her newfound confidence.

"I heard Shane Grey and Tess Tyler were there!" Ok, I'm a huge Connect 3 fangirl and have posters of them all over my wall. Mitchie being who she is, wasn't and would get annoyed whenever I went on one of my Shane Grey daydream sessions. I imagine meeting him one day and having his babies. "Sierra, SI!" Mitchie snapped her fingers at me and laughed.

"Shut up, Mitch!" I grinned, "So were they there? Did you get to meet them?" Mitchie thought for a few minutes, "Yes they were there. Remember how I told you I wouldn't let people get to me anymore? Well, the reason is – Tess." Tess Tyler? She's almost as famous as Shane Grey – but for all the wrong reasons.

"Kelsey is nothing compared to Tess and I can't believe I let her get to me all these years," Mitchie said with a mix of anger and disappointment in herself.

She didn't go into details only saying they had issues and the first part of her summer was really difficult because of Tess. After a heart to heart she is now pretty close with Tess. "Tess is still kind of a bitch, but she's my bitch," Mitch said. She didn't talk about Shane Grey at all saying, "I'm still processing everything."

"SI, I just want to bask in the glow and enjoy this day with you before telling you everything that happened at Camp Rock. I will tell you I met this awesome girl who is now another bestie! She stuck by me through everything, even when I turned against her to be popular and then the entire camp turned against me. Caitlyn is so cool, fierce, and not scared of most anything – or at least that's the front she puts on for everyone." I can't believe Mitch would abandon a friend to become popular.

Mitchie went on and on about Caitlyn the rest of the morning and I'll admit it, I was jealous and kind of hated this perfect mystery girl. How could I ever compete with someone like this? It is already tough enough competing with the 3 Amigos, Christopher Wilde and Hannah "freaking" Montana. Now I have to deal with this Caitlyn? But I love her and I'll make it work. The saving grace is neither Caitlyn nor Hannah are here with her everyday, I am.

A custom ring tone with a very cool beat interrupted my thoughts as Mitchie picked up her phone and I listened to part of the conversation "Cait Cait! Nope. You are kidding me?!" Mitchie erupted in a fit of giggles, "No he didn't. You so did not. I hate you, you know that?" Mitchie, shrieked again.

I was getting really upset with Mitchie, I've never seen her be this girly, giggly and at ease before. She was twirling her hair!

"No, the Jerk texted me and called me this morning. He's a needy man child." There's the rare smile that lights up her whole body, who is she talking about? "No, Cait, we decided we will just be close friends this year. We're going to keep it secret as long as we can. I'm surprised it hasn't leaked yet. Of course we both want more, but it will be impossible if I'm not going to see him for a year."

She smirked at me, before continuing "Well, the Camp Rock grapevine says you are hiding something, Cait, Cait!" Mitchie burst out laughing again, "Language Cait, Cait. Do you talk to you mother with that potty mouth? Yeah, we all know. What's good for the goose!"

Mitch shifted the phone in her ear and got serious, "No, I'm fine, I promised you and the Jerk that I wouldn't. Yes, I'm hanging out with one of my besties Si today." Mitch must have noticed my annoyed look, "Hey, Cait Cait, I have to go. No, you want to? Ok." She handed the phone to me and I took it – you see Mitch isn't the only one who doesn't deal with new people all that well.

I picked up the phone hating myself for stuttering and being jealous, "He…Hello?" The voice on the other end of the phone wasn't at all what I thought it'd be, I expected Caitlyn to be snobbish or stuck up but she was really sweet.

She immediately eased my mind when she told me how much Mitchie talked about me and the 3 Amigos and she seemed to know what I was fearing and promised that she wasn't out to steal Mitchie's friendship from me and wouldn't come between us.

Caitlyn also told me how scared she was when she walked in and saw Mitchie on the floor of their Cabin bleeding from cutting herself. After that conversation I could see why Mitchie connected with this girl, they both shared a love of Music and Caitlyn was stronger than both Mitchie and I. She also seemed to be very loyal.

This makes me want to strangle Mitch more.

She has all of these amazing friends – not because they are famous, she really doesn't see "fame," but all of these people really care about her and would do anything to help her yet she cuts herself, gets manic depressive, refuses help and doesn't appreciate how lucky and blessed she is. As one of her school BFFs, I'm going to figure out what happened to make her this way if it kills me.

I'm really hoping whoever this Jerk (that she clearly loves) from Camp Rock is – wouldn't surprise me at all if it ends up being The Shane Grey, will help her become who she's supposed to be. This little nobody girl with a big heart and amazing talent seems to just naturally attract people like Tess Tyler and Shane Grey.

I know technically Christopher and Hannah were her BFFs long before they became famous but you get my point. Only Mitchie can be so calm and casual about this. Not only that, but she's so darn secretive about her friendships. I would kill to spread this around the school. It'd be an instant ticket to popularity but she'd never forgive me if I did.

"Sierra, if the press or all the people at school knew that I know certain people it would ruin our lives. I see what Chris, Tess, and Hannah put up with. Fame is a double-edged sword and I don't want my friends to think that I'm using them. These are people that I love and hope are in my life forever, long after their fame ends and I don't want to throw that all away just to impress people that don't matter," she told me while we were at the Salon. "But Mitch…."

"No, Sierra, I'm serious. You tell anyone other than the 3 Amigos, we're finished…" She said firmly.

I was shocked by her bluntness and the fact that she would throw away our friendship over this, but she was right. I'd be the one doing the betraying, but I couldn't help be kind of sad at how simply she stated it. "I'm sorry Sierra, I didn't mean for it to come out like that, but it's just important, ok?"

"Mitch, I swear, I won't say anything. I'm sad that our lives are going in different directions, but I'll always be here for you and like you said, I'm not going to let you get too big headed." I laughed.

She laughed as well. "Don't worry Si, I'm not convinced this secrecy is going to last much longer anyway, plenty of people saw me with Christopher and Hannah at Camp Rock after Final Jam, so there must be photos on the Internet by now."

I smiled at her; she is so definitely dating Shane Grey or someone famous. She wouldn't be this vague otherwise. Not to mention she never did answer my question as to whether or not she met him or not and her conversation with Caitlyn had enough clues.

Anyway, we were done with breakfast and the salon - we both decided to change our style for Junior year - I cut most of my trademark curly hair and went with a easier to maintain shorter, layered cut after having it straightened. Mitch cut her bangs, died her hair black, but had a couple of blue streaks in it and went for layered waves, she looks amazing and a little more grown up now.

It was now 4pm and we were heading back home. Her mother Connie normally makes a special birthday cake and dinner for Mitchie to make up for the fact that she doesn't have parties. Have I mentioned how much I love her parents?

I pulled onto her street and something seemed a bit weird. There were several really expensive looking cars scattered and discretely hidden throughout the small neighborhood, and I don't mean just Mercedes expensive, I meant cars that cost the amount of a house expensive. Her neighbors, who were rich, must be having a gathering.

Mitchie didn't notice because she was on a conference call with the 3 Amigos and lost in her own little world. Hannah and Christopher had called to wish her a happy Birthday earlier and apologized for not being there. As she pulled up to Mitchie's house she noticed a strange, expensive looking black SUV, parked on the side of her house. Whenever Mitchie's neighbors have a business party they are rude, park in Mitchie's small yard and trample their grass. Those people have no respect.

This is like a second home to me, so I used my key to open the door when a pair of hands jerked me inside and clamped them over my mouth. Mitchie was still engrossed in her conversation and didn't even see someone grab me. She walked in when I heard the sound of everyone singing:

"Surprise!"

The lights flipped on and a loud cry of "Surprise!" Echoed throughout the living room. When someone screamed out "Come on guys, you know we don't yell, we SING!" Then everyone laughed and sung the word "Surprise!"

The look on Mitchie's face was priceless; she was clearly shocked, but not as shocked as I was. I turned around and saw who had their hand around my waist and one hand over my mouth. When I got a good look at him, I screamed and started hyperventilating like a crazy person.

"You got to be kidding me!" It was Zac Elfron.

Everyone in the room just burst out laughing at me. I was so upset that I just ran out of the room crying.

I was lost in my own little world when I heard a gentle, teasing, voice say "Mitchie is in there yelling at everyone for laughing at her best friend." I jumped when the stranger tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at the stranger and just said, "Who are you?"

The guy just chuckled, "I'm the NORMAL one. I'm Jackson Stewart, Miley and Mitchie's big brother." Since their families are so close, Miley and Mitchie are more than BFFs they are basically sisters - just like Shelby and I are her sisters.

I guess this is where I tell you the big secret (as if Mitchie doesn't have enough of them), Miley Stewart is really Hannah Montana. See I met Miley shortly after I moved here and she was really nice but I knew she and Mitchie were hiding something. Miley came for a surprise visit last year and we all had a great time. One day there was a Hannah emergency and I caught her running out the front door in full Hannah mode.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, but everyone in that house is so ridiculously rich and famous and Mitchie kept it from me," I said angrily.

He laughed again. "It is perfectly understandable. Believe me, I know what it is like to be the ignored one with no talent." He continued, "But here's the thing. When you see what they go through you start to appreciate your normalness even more. Why do you think we created the Hannah persona? It is so that our family can be left alone and she could be an ordinary girl - did you know that song was just as much about her double life as it was about Mitchie?" I did not know that, I knew Mitchie helped her write it.

"I once told Miley, I know our Dad loves us both but his attention isn't focused on me, so I'm able to get away with a lot more. She's my sister and I'll always have her back."

"But it so hard to deal with this." I said. "We're nobodies at school, just once it'd be nice to be popular." Jackson just looked at her, "Did you know that Miley is picked on and bullied all the time at school? You should talk to Lilly."

I was shocked, "No way? She's beautiful, talented, friendly..."

"Yep. She does outshine everyone at school, but she doesn't want anyone to discover her secret so she isn't the most social person and is actually really shy - especially around boys." He cheered her up by telling some of the more humorous adventures of her family and dealing with the secret, as well as stories about his nemesis the evil Ricco.

Sierra was laughing hysterically by the end of it.

"See, Sierra, the one thing you have to realize is. Not only is Mitchie's life about to change - because let's face it; she's always had the talent to be a famous singer, just not the confidence, but you and your friends as well."

He looked continued "Once the media gets a sniff of you, they rarely let go and your entire life will be turned upside down. You need to know that it does pass and they do move onto other things fairly quickly - they really don't care about the family and friends of celebrities, but it is something that you'll have to deal with. It is a lot to take in, but once you realize these are your loved ones it becomes easier."

"Thanks, this really helped. Who in the house knows the secret? I don't want to accidently let it slip," I asked.

Jackson chuckled, "Don't volunteer the information but everyone in the house is a trusted friend so don't worry if you slip up. The one thing you have to know about this crazy celebrity world is it is very small and insular. Once you break down the walls and become a member, it really is like having one big nosey, family with many annoying, overprotective brothers and sisters that you don't want." He held out his arms and said, "Welcome to the family."

He held my hand as we walked back up to the house. Standing there watching us with a smirk on her face was Mitchie, she was holding hands with Shane Grey who was just smiling at us.

Jackson, looked at them and shook his head "You guys have things to talk about," and walked in.

I stood there staring at my shoes before looking up and felt a big blush. I could feel a freak-out coming on but I tried to be cool by saying, "S'up? Why you looking all 'Specious?' Imitating a character from a movie we recently saw.

Shane then burst out laughing, holding up his fingers gangster style saying "Spring Break, Spring Break Forever."

Mitchie just burst into a fit of giggles, "S'up?" Between her giggle fit she said "Are you gangsta now?"

Now that the tension was broken, Mitchie ran up to me and gave me a big hug. "Are we alright now?" She asked. I just laughed, "Never better." She grabbed Shane's hand and introduced us, "Shane this is one of my best friends - Sierra. Sierra meet the Jerk." He just smiled at me with that thousand-watt smile and said with a leer, "So, I hear you want to have my babies?"

I turned into a pumpkin and screamed, "Mitchie! I'm going to kill you!" I jumped on her and we started play fighting. After a few minutes, Shane reached out a hand to pull us off the ground and then we just pulled him down and started tickling him.

After a few minutes, Shane out breath said, "I give, I give!" Then kissed both of us on the cheek. After we stood up and straightened ourselves up, I looked at both of them holding hands. "So what is going on with you two?"

Mitchie blushed, "We're close friends with small benefits?"

"What does that mean?"

Shane looked at Mitch before answering, "It means we're close and dating but right now since I'm touring for the rest of the year and most of next, we're not exclusive, but I do get to do this." He leaned down and gave Mitchie a very passionate kiss.

I cleared my throat and they broke apart blushing. "Mitchie, I never want to hear you whine about not having friends again! Only I get to do that!" I felt a pair of hands grab me. And looked into Shane's serious face, "Don't be silly Sierra, any friend of Mitchie's is a friend of ours." He said kissing me on the forehead.

"You know, I don't know why people call you a Jerk." I said, laughing.

He grinned, "I know, right?"

Mitchie hit him in the arm, "Jerk."

I wiggled my eyebrows at him, "You know, you can dump her and totally have my babies." He burst out laughing. I can't believe how at ease he made me feel.

The rest of the day went by in a blur of jokes at each other's expense, friendly competition and just general normalcy. Jackson watched me and made sure that I remained at ease with everything and I just smiled at him.

I don't think I've ever seen Mitchie be this happy. She loved being the center of attention and being around people who just got her. A couple of times Jason from Connect 3 just randomly yelled out "Group Hug" and we all laughed and just grabbed each other. I even spent some time talking with Zac and Christopher who were really sweet guys. Ashley, Vanessa, Tess and Carter (Caitlyn's friend) were really awesome girls.

Tess was standoffish and didn't want to talk to me at first, but Mitchie forced her to be nice. Christopher's girlfriend Jessica was sweet and shy, this was her first time being around Chris' friends so she was trying to take it all in. They started dating last year and she was staying with his family this summer.

By the time the party ended, I felt really close with these people. I know it's only been a few hours but it was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I was excited to find out that everyone was staying for a few more days. It was Wednesday and everyone would be going home Saturday morning.

Ok, so here's the thing, I don't want to make it seem like Mitchie knew all these people that were at her birthday party, like I first thought. It just happens that Jackson was right, Hollywood is a pretty small, insular industry where a lot of the various cliques come together. In many ways it is just like High School. So to explain all the various connections at the party, Miley was there with her actor boyfriend Jake whose best friend just happens to be Zac and Robert Paterson (who wasn't at the party).

Zac, Vanessa and Ashley were already in town for the week doing promotion for the sequel to their hit movie, so Jake called them and told them to come and hang out. Tess had met the trio a couple of times, but weren't friends or anything. Then you have Connect 3 - Jason, Nate and of course Shane. Jess is a normal girl who met her rock star boyfriend Chris and Caitlyn brought one of her BFFs Carter.

Chapter 3 - Camp Rock Tales

Sierra

I felt something tickle my nose and I just brushed it away, I was having one of the best night's sleeps that I've had in awhile and was dreaming that I knew all these famous hot guys. I thought I felt something touch me, but I was too comfortable. Something wet entered my ear and I woke up instantly and screamed.

The position I was in would have been comical if it happened to anyone else, I looked up and saw Miley and Tess standing over me with big grins then I turned around and was getting ready to scream again before Tess put her hand over my mouth.

Yesterday wasn't a dream; I really did meet Connect 3, Christopher Wilde and OMFG! I just woke up in Zac Efron's arms! Omg, omg! I was lying down on the couch next to Zack, who had his arm wrapped around my waist and my head was comfortably on his shoulder. I looked around the room and saw that Ashley and Vanessa were in sleeping bags on the floor and Jessica and Carter were getting dressed.

"Calm down, don't wake them up," said Miley. I nodded and then looked at the clock. "Why are we up at the crack of butt?" I asked a bit irritated, I never was much of a morning person and my fantasy of waking up in a boy's arms has been interrupted by reality. Carter laughed, "That sounds like something Caity would say."

"We're going out for a coffee run." Caity said as she walked down the stairs.

"At this time of the morning? It's the last week of summer. Are you crazy?" I asked.

Tess shrugged, "It's kind of a habit we got into at Camp Rock. We took turns going on Coffee runs and it just continued afterwards. The guys did it last week, so it's our turn." Tess normally isn't a morning person but since she's been on better terms with her mom, the only time they can really talk is early in the morning – due to the time difference.

"Oh…" More camp rock insider stuff that I'll never understand or be part of. I don't understand this new life Mitch has.

Tess and Caity saw Sierra's expression and shared a look.

"Where's Mitchie?" Jessica asked.

"You don't want to wake her up when she's with Shane. Mitch is usually a morning person, but when she's with him, they both are a nightmare to get up," said Tess.

I scoffed at Tess. I've known Mitchie for 5 years and didn't know that about her since she very rarely has sleepovers. Which is why last night seemed so odd, that not only did she have a sleepover, but I, her best friend, was excluded, while Tess, Caitlyn, Miley, Shane, Jackson, Nate and Christopher were all in her room. The rest of us stayed downstairs and watched movies until we fell asleep. "We know you were upset about last night. But you could have joined us, Mitch felt bad." Miley said.

"I wasn't invited." I shot back. "Do you realize I've known Mitchie for 5 years and I can count on one hand the number of times she's had a sleepover?"

Caitlyn responded, "Si, can I call you Si?" I shrugged, while I like Caitlyn, I don't think we're on a nickname basis yet, but then I don't want to cause trouble.

"Mitchie has severe nightmares. She told us she doesn't have sleepovers because they embarrass her. At Camp Rock she stayed in Mamma C's cabin until Brown forced Tess, Mitchie, Shane and I to share a cabin."

I was really surprised by this, yet something else I didn't know. I looked to Miley for confirmation. She shrugged, "It's true, Mitchie and I have a very dark past. It's not my story to tell – well it is, but she needs to tell it." She continued, "But know this, she is more than my sister, she is my hero."

I think I've always known that something major happened to her and it hurts me that she won't tell me.

"Don't ask her about it Si, she will tell you soon. I think Camp Rock taught her to open up and now that she and Shane are together or whatever they are. She's ready to tell more people and is ready to deal with the consequences," said Tess.

I just nodded my head.

It was about 6:30 am, so I was surprised the local coffee shop was actually crowded with people. I guess it's the work crowd, luckily no one recognized Tess. But then it was an older crowd and she wasn't glammed up like she usually was.

She was wearing a pair of pink sweat pants, and a powder blue Forever 21 t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a bun and she had a pair of shades and hat on. Caitlyn's car did turn heads when we pulled in. I was a both proud and embarrassed at all the stares we got. You don't see many convertibles in our neighborhood and a custom cannery yellow, convertible Bentley is a unique and very expensive car. This car must cost over $400k, my jaw dropped when I first saw it. It's the most beautiful car I've ever seen.

I don't know what her parents do for a living, but clearly they are well off.

Not only is her car very beautiful, but she also gave Mitch a brand new, top of the line iPhone (complete with a fully paid service plan) that doesn't even come out for two more weeks and a new fully loaded MacBook Pro. Yes, I'm insanely jealous. The phone and MacBook even came engraved with the initials of her Camp Rock friends on the back with the word sister in the center.

How she got the phone is anyone's guess. Apple is notorious for secrecy. Mitch actually had to sign an agreement not to take it to school or out in public until the phone's official release date. Boy will Kelsey be shocked and jealous when she sees Mitch's new phone and laptop.

She got a bunch of great gifts yesterday. Hannah and Chris gave her a new Guitar and Piano, Tess gave her an expensive charm bracelet similar to the one she has and a $3K gift certificate to the mall – saying her wardrobe was severely lacking. They won't be calling her Salvation Army at school anymore, once Tess gets done with her. Shane gave her a beautiful locket and ring, Jason got her two digital picture frames - a small one for her locker and a larger one for her bedroom, so she can get photos from them all the time and told us that we'll be able to watch private live streams of some of their concerts. He was appalled when he found out I'd never been to a Connect 3 concert.

Nate gave Mitch 10 first class plane tickets so she and a friend can come see them wherever they are, whenever she wants, Mitch was especially touched by this. It made my little gifts seem paltry, although I know she loved the new scrapbook and custom sheet music book. Her dad turned his prized backyard shed/workshop into a private recording studio with equipment donated by all her friends.

"I'll go grab us a table," Tess said.

I was surprised; I thought we were just getting coffee to go. "You really didn't think we'd just get coffee and go back did you?" Said Miley. I'd just been kidnapped and ambushed. I looked over to Jessica and Carter and they just shrugged.

I hate coffee, so I looked over the menu to see if I could find something. The Caramel Apple Spice seemed interesting. I have the feeling we're going to be here for a while. After grabbing my drink, I walked over to the table and grabbed a seat next to Carter. Carter and Jessica seemed to be the most normal ones out of everyone and were new to this scene like I was.

"You don't drink coffee?" Tess said shocked.

"Nah. It's ok for a sip or two but after that I get bored with it and don't like the bitter taste nor aftertaste," I said.

"You are killing me here," Carter joked.

"So, clearly, this is an ambush girl chat?" Jessica questioned. She's never had that many friends, but she wasn't an outcast at school. She just didn't like mindless girl chat, so people didn't really hang out with her. She was always seen as Sarah's little sister.

Her sister being extremely popular in school meant people generally just let her be and she was fine with that. Things of course changed when Christopher came to her school and declared his love for her in front of everyone. Things got a bit weird and hellish after that, but she's learned to deal with it.

"Yep," Tess said.

"We wanted to see how you, Carter, Sierra and Miley are dealing with all of this," said Caitlyn.

I spit out my apple juice a bit when Tess included Miley. I looked over to her; she just shrugged as if to say they didn't know her Hannah secret. I just nodded. Carter caught our exchange and raised an eyebrow. I swear that girl doesn't miss much, she's not much of a talker but I can tell she is a people watcher.

"Well, ok. I want to know about you all sharing a cabin with freaking Shane Grey!"

"You tell em Caity, it was your fault!" Said Tess with a smile.

Caitlyn laughed, "You remember things entirely different, Tessalyn Olivia!"

"One day we'll tell you the full story of Camp Rock. But it basically boiled down to the four of us fighting and disrupting camp."

"Why were you fighting?" Asked Jessica.

"It all started with Mitchie. She was the new girl in a camp where many of us knew each other for years. So she was naturally a curiosity for a lot of us. I was her first friend at Camp and we had a great time the first day, then she met Tess and abandoned me to be friends with her. So I thought she was a two faced bitch and let her know it, every chance I got."

I can't believe that Mitchie would throw a friend away to be popular. Since Mitch has only been back for a few days, we haven't really talked about what happened at Camp.

"What can I say, everyone wants to be my friend," Tess joked.

Caitlyn playfully punched Tess in the arm, "Don't make me punch you again. I warned her that Tess was just using her, but she refused to listen."

"That's where you were always wrong, Caity. Yes, I was using her, but I really did like her. We clicked pretty quickly and I liked that her mom was the President of Hot Tunes China. It meant that we had more things in common, sue me."

I laughed heartily at that one. "You bought that lie? You grew up in the business."

Tess shrugged, slightly offended. "You weren't there. I guess, I could have just asked my mom. But Mitchie was pretty convincing, she clearly wasn't fazed by my fame and one day I saw her photo album and it had candid pictures of her with Hannah Montana and Christopher Wilde."

I nodded; it made logical sense, "You must have really intimidated her. Mitch isn't the type of person to outright lie. She keeps a million secrets, but she rarely lies."

"Yeah, needless to say when I found out the truth, I wasn't too happy and I exposed her to the entire camp thinking it would destroy her relationship with Shane, but he already knew. He wasn't happy she lied to everyone else, but he stuck up for her."

Miley laughed. "Of course he already knew, they've been joined at the hip for the last two years and he LOVES Mamma C."

I choked on my Apple Cider. "What?!"

"How do you know?" Asked Caitlyn.

"I'm her sister, our families were close before we were even born. Our parents grew up together and went to college. She tells Jackson, Chris and I everything," Miley said a little smugly.

I was a little upset; she's known Connect 3 for two years and didn't say anything? I wanted to go to their concert last year so badly, but I couldn't get tickets, so we went to the movies. Mitch went to Malibu to visit Miley that weekend, so she went straight home after the early showing. Everyone at school raved about the show and all Kelsey talked about was how she met Shane and showed pictures of the two of them together.

"We didn't know about their prior history until much later, they acted like they met at Camp. Mitchie was the only one to call him out when he was acting like a complete asshole. One day he went so far as to make poor Ella cry, when Mitchie heard about it she was livid and ran down to the lake to confront him," said Tess.

Caitlyn laughed out loud, continuing from where Tess left off, "Yeah, I saw her storm past me to confront him. I don't know what Shane said to her but her face went red as a tomato. She kicked him where the sun don't shine, slapped him and pushed him in the lake; he retaliated by pulling her in and laughing. Next thing we knew they were making out."

I nodded my head in understanding. That is so like Mitch. She may not stick up for herself but she always fights for her friends and other people when they get picked on.

"The next day Tess and I confronted Shane and Mitchie, the four of us got into an argument and caused a big food fight, unfortunately Brown saw the entire thing and wasn't having it. He had enough of our disrupting the entire camp, so he forced us all to share a cabin together and work in the kitchen with Mamma C," said Tess.

"So what was it like sharing a cabin with Shane?" Asked Jessica.

"I used to always think we were meant to be together. Plus we did date before they got famous. It was one of the reasons I turned on Mitch. I thought she was taking what was mine. Everyone knew that behind all that anger between the two, they were flirting. But living with him 24/7, you quickly realize he's just like any other annoying boy," said Tess.

Caitlyn agreed, "Yeah, listening to him belch, make boy sounds, boy smells and getting him up in the mornings ruined the image of Shane Grey – Rock Star. Plus he and Mitch continued to fight for the first few days in the cabin. It was a nightmare."

"A few days later we overheard them talking and found out the real reason for the fight. Turns out Shane dumped his long time girlfriend and confessed his love to Mitch and she turned him down. It messed him up, since he's used to getting whatever he wants and what he wanted above anything else was her," said Tess.

"We had a big fight with Mitch because she and Shane had been lying to us the entire summer. First the Hot Tunes lie and now this, it was too much we couldn't trust her anymore. That night we caught her cutting and she ended up in the hospital for a couple of days. It sent Shane over the edge, and made Tess and I reevaluate what it meant to be true friends" Caitlyn said still feeling guilty.

"Things changed between Mitch and Shane when she had her first nightmare the night she returned from the hospital. They stayed up all night talking through their problems and then we had a talk. That's when she told us about her history with Hannah and Shane." said Tess.

I looked over to Miley who just nodded.

"What is with all the looks you two are giving each other?" Carter asked.

Miley smiled. "I guess, I should tell you guys. But you have to promise not to tell anyone else." She looked around the table and everyone agreed. She knew she could trust these people.

"Mitch knows the guys very well, because I used to date Nate. He was my first love. "

Tess didn't get it, "But I thought Hannah introduced them?" Then the lightbulb went off, "Wait, are you saying YOU'RE Hannah Montana?!" She whisper shouted.

I slammed my hand on the table and laughed, "Finally, I knew something you and Caitlyn didn't."

Jessica laughed as well, "Well Chris told me before coming here. He talks about you all the time. I was jealous."

"There were rumors that Hannah had a secret life, but I never gave it much thought. I met you a couple of times and didn't make the connection at all. You are so different than the Hannah I met," said Tess who was still eying Miley closer than before.

"So that's what all the tension was about between Caitlyn, Connect 3 and you?" Asked Carter.

"Well the tension between Caity and Nate had nothing to do with me. But yeah, after Connect 3 got discovered their label contacted my dad and wanted him to help them with their music and Hannah to help with promotion. Nate and I instantly connected; we secretly dated while they opened for my world tour. We were together for 18 months, but like an idiot I didn't trust him enough with my biggest secret. When he found out, it didn't end well and we just broke each other."

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug. This was clearly a sore subject. "Yesterday was the first time you've seen him since the breakup?" I asked.

Miley took a sip of her hot white chocolate mocca and sighed in contentment, "I saw him at Camp Rock for a few minutes because I judged Final Jam, but we avoided each other. So yeah, it's been several months and he made it clear that he wasn't happy that I was here with Jake - apparently they know each other and don't get along. He also wasn't happy with Mitch. They had formed a really tight bond and felt betrayed that his 'twin' sister didn't warn him. Shane felt betrayed by Mitch as well and they stopped talking for a few months last year."

She sighed and started crying a bit, "I didn't mean for it to get so out of control, I just didn't know how to tell him. Mitch had every reason to abandon me, but she stuck by me, even though she lost Nate and Shane. They both eventually forgave her, but they refused to talk to me."

Wow, now I know why she's been so bipolar in the last year. I can't believe Mitch kept all of this bottled up inside and didn't tell Shelby or me.

"Secrets, have a way of doing that," said Carter.

"Yeah, I learned my lesson and told Jake early on in our relationship that I was Hannah, he wasn't happy either but he dealt with it better than Nate," said Miley.

"So he was ok with you being plain Miley?" Jessica asked.

Miley scoffed, "It was actually the opposite. Jake fell in love with the real me and didn't know anything about Hannah, until I was a guest on his TV Show. I tried to hide it from him during the shoot and it was just too hard."

"If he knew Miley first, how did you two meet? This is so confusing!" Said Tess.

Miley laughed, "Imagine how I feel. Some days I don't know whether I'm coming or going. It was fun living two lives when I was younger, had no friends and just starting out, but lately everything has been spiraling out of control. It's exhausting. I messed up my best friend's birthday party, missed Jackson's graduation, forced to run out of a music video because a Pap got too close to the truth, got into a public brawl with Tyra Banks - I did see those shoes first and was named the new bad girl of music."

She continued, "My dad has me on Hannah lockdown this summer. He cancelled my summer tour and I'm not allowed to do any public appearances until the fall. I've been going a little crazy not being able to perform, but the break has been good for me. I barely made it to Camp Rock, but he owed Brown a favor and who can say no to him?" Tess and Caitlyn laughed at that.

"So what about Jake?" Asked Caitlyn.

"It was so weird. He decided he wanted to be normal and tried public school. It was really a publicity stunt, but he ended up going to my school. I thought he was an arrogant, attention whore and frankly I was jealous. He was instantly Mr. Popular at school and had the entire female population following him. I actually thought about revealing my Hannah secret so that for once I wasn't ignored and picked on at school."

She continued, "I was still getting over Nate and dealing with Hannah insanity, so I didn't want a relationship least of all with someone so shallow. For some reason he became obsessed with me. No matter how much I tried to avoid him, he kept showing up like a bad rash. He would appear at my locker, at our lunch table, at my house, at the beach club, everywhere. I couldn't escape him. When I was ready to give in, he disappeared for a movie shoot for a few months. Things went back to normal until one day he literally parachuted out of a plane onto the beach, dressed in a tux, and asked me to give him a chance. He was the first boy to really notice me for me and not Hannah."

She chuckled, "Ironically, once I said yes and we became a couple, I saw my face in all the tabloids and the Paps were following my every move. It was unnerving, as Hannah, I'm hounded all the time, but I have control because press only show up when I want them to. As Miley, they knew where I lived, worked, everything. It was turning my life upside down. I finally got a taste of popularity and it sucked."

"I went from being ignored, to being the one every girl in my school hated because Jake wanted me. My real life as Miley was ruined. It was hard sneaking out for Hannah events. I felt like Joe Pesci in Casino, I had to switch multiple cars and everything. The press has moved onto other things, but for the first month it was hellish. Be careful what you wish for Si, if you blow the Smitchie secret, you'll become popular, but it doesn't mean you'll like it. You'll be used by people trying to get to Mitchie and Shane and most of the popular kids will just pick on Mitch more."

I've known Miley for a couple of years now and found out the Hannah secret last year and it is still weird when she talks about herself in the 3rd person.

Jessica agreed, "Yeah, the same thing happened to me with Chris. I went from a quiet existence to having reporters camping out on my lawn calling me a liar and then it got really crazy once he made his public declaration at the homecoming dance. Although, most kids left me alone last semester, a few of the mean girls tried to make my life hell because I wouldn't let them talk to Chris. But my sister Sarah shut that down. She's popular and can be an airhead, but she's scary when she gets all protective."

I nodded; I had no intention of telling anyone, not even the three Amigos.

"So was it worth it?" Asked Tess.

Miley and Jess both smiled and said "Oh, yes, definitely," they high fived each other.

Chapter 4 - Caitlyn and Carter's Story

We talked and joked some more, but then I remembered Caitlyn didn't answer Carter's question. "Hey Caity, what was going on with you and Nate yesterday? From the phone call yesterday, I thought maybe you two had a thing."

Caitlyn blushed a bit and shook her head. "Nah. Nate and I were really close friends for several years. Everyone thought we were destined to be together, we had tried a couple of times, but there wasn't any chemistry – it was like kissing my brother - ewww. A week before final jam we tried to force it and made the mistake of being each other's 'first.' Things were really awkward between us after that. Unfortunately, it was the year they won, they disappeared before we had a chance to really talk through our issues and do a proper DTR. Yesterday was the first time I've spent any proper time with Nate in several years."

"That doesn't sound like the Nate I love. He didn't contact you at all?" Asked Miley.

Carter looked at Jessica, neither didn't miss the fact that Miley used the word love when describing Nate.

"He did the first month afterwards and we talked for a bit, but we continued to avoid the elephant in the room, then he just stopped calling and changed his number, next thing I know he's dating you." said Caitlyn. "I lost my best friend, wasn't speaking to Tess anymore and my parents travel a lot. I didn't have many people to talk to until I met Carter online and then Mitch came to camp."

"What do your parents do?" I asked.

She shrugged, "My family owns a construction company that's run by my grandparents and older brother. But my mom is President of International Marketing at Apple and my dad owns a fashion design company. They met on a cruise ship; they are disgustingly in love so they spend their summers on boats to keep their relationship alive since they travel so much the rest of the year. I don't see them as much as I'd like. I have to split my time between NY and San Francisco, but go to a private school with a bunch of stuck up rich kids in NYC. I'm actually thinking about moving in with Mitchie."

I was shocked. Wow, just wow! She must be loaded with a capital L. That explains the car and the gifts. I've seen Geller Construction signs all over town and they own a big high-rise building right downtown, their corporate office is headquartered in New York. I read a profile of her parents in the last issue of Forbes.

Her mom is really famous for being one of the few top women in tech and rumor had it she was thinking about running for Senate or Gov in California. Her mother's grandparents disapproved of her parent's relationship and disowned them because they are a bi-racial couple and apparently got pregnant in high school.

Luckily Caitlyn's dad's family the Gellers loved her mom and supported the young couple until they graduated college. While her brother is one of the youngest African American business people on Wall Street. They mention their daughter all the time but have managed to keep her name and photo out of the papers.

"Wait, does your dad own CTG?" Asked Jessica.

Caitlyn nodded her head eying Jessica and Si's reaction; she really didn't like people knowing about her background and family money. She has been picked on by some of the jealous mean girls at her school and have been the subject of racial slurs, called stuck up, etc but she doesn't care and learned early on how to stand up for herself. She thought about asking her parents to let her stay with the Torres this school year, but she would miss them too much even if she doesn't see them as often as she'd like.

Other than her car – a gift from her brother, her parents makes her work for everything she has and tries not to spoil her or flaunt their wealth. Their motto is to give her and her brother enough money to do something with, but not enough to do nothing. They said they plan on giving away everything except her and her brother's trust funds - which are pretty sizable.

She made a deal with her parents that she was going to go to college or a specialty program and learn the business aspects of running a record label and once she was ready, her parents would give her the start up capital she needed to try and make it work. She was glad to see after the initial shock, Sierra had returned to normal. Si is Mitchie's best friend and it's important that they all get along. With Mitchie by her side, she might not even need capitol from her parents. She had confidence that with Mitchie's talent and her producing skills they would be pretty successful.

"So are you really going to move here and go to school with us?" Sierra asked.

Caitlyn shrugged, "I don't know. Even though I don't see them as often as I'd like, I'd miss my parents and brother. We'll see. Would you be upset if I moved here?"

"Why would I be upset? You are Mitchie's friend, I have nothing to do with whether you come here or not." Sierra asked.

"I know you think we're stealing her away from you…"

Sierra stopped her before she finished, "I'll admit I was and am jealous. But you guys are cool, I'm sure I will learn to share her."

"He didn't forget you…" Miley mumbled…

Caitlyn looked up. "Huh?"

Speaking clearer, "Nate never forgot you, he told me all about his best friend and what happened between you guys. He once said letting you go was the biggest regret of his life. It's probably why he made things right with Mitchie last year."

Caitlyn was speechless and started to cry a bit, "A part of me always hated myself for what happened and I've hated him for making me feel that way."

"He loved you like a sister and would always bring up things that reminded him of you. I was pretty jealous for awhile," Miley said.

Caitlyn was speechless. "Wow, I held a grudge against him for the longest time, but when I saw him yesterday, I realized how much I missed him."

Jessica being the brash one of the group, much like Caitlyn, decided it was time to get to know Carter, "Ok, I think we've found out enough about everyone this morning, but you Carter are a mystery. What's your story?"

"There's not much to tell really. I live in very small town in Tennessee, my dad owns a small Bait shop, but he travels a lot for his job so I'm left on my own a lot. Like the rest of you, I'm not all that popular at school - but unlike you all I'm not dating hot famous or rich guys, everyone at school calls me 'Bait Girl,' and Brittany is my school's Tess."

Tess was indignant, "Hey!"

Carter continued, "My cousin Rosie came to live with us last week and she is driving me absolutely crazy. I met Cait a few years ago in an Internet chat room, we hit it off and became good friends."

Tess looked at her suspiciously, "Are you gay?"

I choked on my 2nd cup of Apple Cider and looked sharply at Tess.

Tess shrugged her shoulders, "You can tell us, we won't judge. But I did notice you staring at Mitchie all day."

"Actually, I'm Bi, but that's not why I was staring," she finished and wasn't going to say more.

Tess kept pestering her about it, until she relented.

"Ok, ok!" She said in exasperation. "You all shared your biggest secrets with me and I feel like I can trust you somewhat," she looked at Sierra "You have to promise that you won't tell Mitchie. I don't know about Mitchie's past or why she wants to keep her relationship with Shane a secret, but it is for the best. Her life could be in serious danger if her picture gets on the news."

Carter looked around the room gauging everyone's reaction. Tess, Miley and Caitlyn thought somehow Carter knew Mitchie's secret and Sierra and Jessica were clueless.

"Do you know the old saying that everyone has a double?" Everyone nodded, "For example people say I look a lot like a low-rent Selena Gomez, I get mistaken for her all the time..."

Miley looked sharply at Carter, "Selly is one of my best friends, I thought you looked familiar, it was bugging me all day yesterday. You have similar features and could pass as sisters, but not twins…"

Carter laughed ironically, "Of course she's your friend…." she pulled a photo out of her wallet and handed it to Miley who screamed really loud "Oh my god!" Everyone in the coffee shop turned their heads, Tess tilted her head down a bit so she wouldn't be recognized. She handed out her hand in a gimmee motion to see the photo, she and Caitlyn gasped as well.

Sierra was getting annoyed, if it had to do with Mitchie shouldn't she have seen the picture first? What she saw, shocked her to her very core, "I can't believe it…" She dropped her cup in shock. The picture showed Carter with her arm around a girl who looked exactly like Mitch. The resemblance was so uncanny that it was scary. She was even wearing an outfit that was similar to one of Mitchie's favorite ensembles.

"What? How?" Sierra sputtered.

Carter answered, "I don't know, but this is my Cousin Rosie. Miley, Sierra, do you know if the Torres have any other family?"

Miley spoke up, "Mamma C has two brothers and Daddy S. has a Sister, there are 8 cousins, but they have never been particularly close. Christmas is usually a nightmare the few times they come."

"She's your cousin, wouldn't you know if you are related to Mitchie?" Caitlyn asked her friend.

Carter looked at everyone, they were too smart for their own good, but she couldn't tell the complete truth about Rosie. "Ok, this isn't the entire truth, my father will kill me for telling you even half of this. So it's really important that it doesn't go beyond you guys. Don't tell Mitchie, Connect 3 or the others until I talk to my father." Everyone agreed to her conditions before she went on.

"Rosie is not my cousin. It's just a cover story. She's one of the richest girls in the world and makes you guys look poor. My father is a mercenary/bodyguard for a semi-private security firm and is assigned to protect her, because her life is in danger. This is the first time he's brought his work home, so she's staying with us until the threat on her life is over and is going to start school with me next week as my Cousin. If Mitchie's picture gets out, the dangerous, powerful people after Rosie and her family will come after her either out of mistaken identity or to use as leverage. Understand?"

Everyone nodded. I needed time to process this information. I don't feel right keeping this from Mitchie, she deserves to know and I told Carter that.

"No, Si. Until I know more about Mitchie's connection to Rosie, we have to keep this under wraps as much as possible and try to keep Shane away from Mitch," said Carter.

"Um, no. Just no. I tried that over the summer and vowed never to interfere in that relationship again!" Said Tess.

Caitlyn and Miley nodded in agreement. "We'll manage the fallout if her photos get out there, and it's inevitable that they will. There were hundreds of people at Final Jam, Brown took everyone's phones at the beginning and requested no photos, but I'm sure some folks must have snuck Cameras in anyway and captured Shane and Mitchie's surprise duet. And they were together a LOT at camp; there must be pictures. It's only a matter of days before it gets out and explodes all over YouTube," said Caitlyn.

Tess agreed, "Yeah, they are in denial if they think they can keep their connection a secret. The best they can do is claim they are just "friends." Paps don't care about our nobody friends - no offense."

I'd never really heard Mitch sing before. Well we playfully sing together all the time and I always thought she had a great voice, but she's never done it all out in public before. "Is she really going to be successful?"

Miley laughed, "She already is. She has a deal with my label to be an in-house writer. She's already written two hits for me this year and one for Christopher. She's going to help Sel and I on our new Albums this fall. John and Aunt Dolly adore her voice and have been trying to get her to do her own album for years."

Wow, damn Mitch and her secrets, "So much for Salvation Army…" I mumbled.

"What?" Jessica said.

"Kelsey and her clique tease Mitch and her family for being "poor" and call her Salvation Army, when she's not being called 'bitchie Mitchie.'"

Caitlyn and Miley both looked like they wanted to find Kelsey and punch her in the face.

Miley shook her head, "Mamma and Daddy T are hardly poor. They own a piece of our label; they aren't super wealthy like we are (she pointed towards Cait, Tess and herself). Actually I can't touch my Hannah money until I'm 25 so I'm not uber wealthy either, but like me she has a trust fund that she'll get after college and most of the money she's currently earning is going into the trust as well. They don't flaunt their money or want to spoil Mitchie. Especially after what happened."

Wow, Mitch is rich and she let's people tease her for being poor? I just don't understand that girl and there's no point in asking what Miley meant by the last comment so I let it go.

Caitlyn took out her cell phone and headphones and handed it to me, "Here Si, take a look and then you tell us." I looked at the video of Mitch and my mouth fell open. She's wearing the boots I bought her for her birthday last year and she is scary amazing! She was a little nervous at first but once she got into the song she was lost in it, then when Shane came up, the chemistry was off the charts and she was glowing. "WOW!" I screamed in awe. People at the other table stared at us. I passed the phone over to Jess and Carter so they could see.

Miley pulled out her phone and handed it to me, but this one was different than her other cheap phone. This was a top of the line iPhone with a really expensive custom case that had the HM bedazzled on it in what looked like real diamonds. I looked at the Video and it showed Mitch messing around at the Piano when Miley walked in as Hannah and they started messing around singing Hannah's hit song.

The next video showed her rocking out on a rehearsal stage with Christopher during a Soundcheck and here's one with her messing around with Selena Gomez. I'm not even going to act shocked that she and Mitch are friends.

The next video showed Mitch, Hannah, Christopher, Selena and Connect 3 singing a song. This one must be before Miley and Nate broke up. They all looked so carefree and at ease with each other. It's amazing to see Mitch like this; I'm seeing my best friend in a totally new light. Gone is the shy, usually depressed girl that I know and love. The real Mitchie Torres is a confident, force of nature. No wonder Shane loves her; you can see it in his eyes even here.

"She wrote every song, that you just saw, clearly the stage is her home." Miley said proud of her sister.

Tess and Caitlyn weren't surprised that Mitch was this good, but they now understood why Brown banned her from being eligible to win Final Jam even after Tess confessed that she set Mitchie up. Brown must have known about Mitch's professional status and her past.

Chapter 5 - Those Boys!

The rest of the morning went fine; there was an incident when Kelsey and her clique unexpectedly showed up at the coffee shop. It was 8 in the morning, what were the odds of that happening?

We had just got all the serious talk out of the way and spent another ½ hour just joking around when the bitch noticed me and decided to dump her scalding hot coffee all over me. Naturally I was mortified and started to cry but Tess took me to the bathroom and cleaned me up. When we returned there was chaos.

Caitlyn was screaming at Kelsey who had blood dripping down her nose, Amber was being held back by Carter, surprisingly Miley had Kelsey's boyfriend's arm behind his back in a similar move that Mitch used on Kelsey's brother last year. Miley was livid and threatened to break his arm. Some people were taking photos of the incident.

Before anyone noticed her Tess quickly left the building to get Caitlyn's car, I don't even know how she had the keys. I walked over and tried to de-escalate the situation. Besides name-calling when Mitch was around, Kelsey has never targeted me, but after what happened last year she has stepped up her attack on Mitch.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Caitlyn was screaming at Kelsey, while shaking her hand.

Kelsey, holding her nose said, "Look bitch, you don't know me and I don't know why you were hanging with that loser over there. This is my town, you'll be hearing from my father and my Uncle who happens to be the Police Chief!"

Caitlyn laughed dangerously, "Clearly, you don't know who I AM or you wouldn't be threatening me. Not only will I ruin that plastic face of yours, but I will destroy your father and Uncle." Caitlyn was livid, she doesn't let people walk over her nor her friends and she certainly wasn't going to let some bottle blond bimbo threaten her. Oh heck no.

Trying to play peacemaker, Sierra stood between the two of them. "Kelsey, just go and leave my friends in peace. You had your fun."

"Just because you got a new hairdo and some new psycho losers to hang out with doesn't mean you have the right to talk to me, China Geek!" Kelsey said.

"Wow, China Geek? Really? That's the best insult you can come up with? The quality of your bullies doesn't really measure up Si." Said Jessica.

"Look, Kelsey, if you don't want what happened to your brother to happen your boy toy over there. I suggest you take your Intimidation Nation with you and leave. You don't want to mess with these so-called losers." She said pointing at Miley who looked lived.

Miley said, "You better think of an answer fast because there are plenty of witnesses here who saw your boyfriend try and hit me. Don't believe for a second that I won't break his arm."

Kelsey flashbacked to the incident between Mitchie and her brother, it destroyed his chances at a scholarship and her family is going to sue the Torres over the assault, they may be poor, but they need to be taught a lesson. "This isn't over, tell Mitch I'll see her in school." She and her posse walked out of the café.

They heard a horn honk and everyone turned around and saw Caitlyn's gorgeous car pull up to the front. Kelsey's mouth dropped open when she saw Sierra and her friends get into it. She turned to Amber, "Who are those people?"

Kelsey was tempted to follow them; instead she took down the license plate number and will ask her uncle about it later. The car had New York tags so the chances of her seeing them again were probably slim, but she was going to get even with all of them.

Sierra normally doesn't like confrontations, just this once she didn't mind it. She already felt pretty close to these girls, she couldn't help but cry a bit she looked over to Miley and Caitlyn "Thank you. Other than Mitchie no one has ever stood up for me like that."

Jessica turned her head around from the front seat, "Hey, we're a family now. You mess with one of us, you mess with us all."

Tess just nodded. "You and Mitch aren't alone any more. None of us are."

Carter trying to lighten the mood looked over at Caitlyn, "Why does Tess get to drive your baby? I want a crack at it." Everyone laughed.

"Over my dead body," Caitlyn said before looking at Tess "How did you even get my keys?"

Tess shrugged her shoulders, "You should know by now, I have my ways…"

After getting a change of clothes at my house we went back to Mitchie's place and walked into a bit of chaos. Looks like everyone was finally awake and sitting in the kitchen while Miley's dad was trying to teach the boys how to cook breakfast. The usually pristine kitchen had pots and pans all over it, cabinet doors where open and food was all over the counter.

"Now boys, they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but the same thing is true for a woman. Women love a man who can cook up some good grub," said Mr. Stewart.

Connie laughed, "He's right you know. Besides what do you guys eat when you are on the road all the time? You all look too thin. Do you need me to start sending you care packages?"

"Hey, we eat!" Nate said offended. "I'll have you know our little Shaney Poo over there is our private little Bobby Flay and Emeril rolled into one."

Shane laughed and shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I'm a man of many hidden talents. Not just the pretty face of a rock god with a soulful voice. Momma C and Mitchie taught me well. Don't hate on me because you and Jason nearly burned down the kitchen boiling water."

"You mean pop star?" Mitchie said.

"Rock star!" All three of the Connect Boys said in unison.

"No, you guys are pop stars."

"Take it back," Said Nate.

"No way, twin… What is your music classified as on iTunes and Billboard?"

Shane held up his hands "You win."

"Don't be such a kiss ass Shaney Poo, you already got the girl…. or do you?" Jason said as he threw his arm around Mitchie and gave her a playful leer. She slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, take your arm off her, she's mine," Shane said playfully punching Jason.

"Hey, what's with all the hitting you two?" Jason said.

"I'm yours? What am I some Tonka toy? Are you going to hit my head with your Captain Caveman club and claim me?" Mitchie asked.

"If I have to," Shane said.

"Uh, oh. Shaney Poo, you don't want to get her riled up. You should have a healthy fear of her. She gave me a black eye and broke my thumb once," said Chris.

"Hey! It was an accident. You'll never let that go will you? We were 5!" argued Mitchie.

"That's my girl," Jackson said, giving her an exploding fist bump.

Sierra once again marveled at this version of Mitchie – the real one that she doesn't show at school – playful, feisty, at ease with who she is. "We're back." Miley said walking into the kitchen; we all had everyone's drinks in our hands. Turns out they really weren't kidding about the Coffee run, we had to go to McDonald's to pick up their orders after Kelsey ran us out of the café.

I gave Shane his famous Soy latte with extra whipped cream; he greedily took it and gave me a kiss on the cheek "Bless you, my lovely." He took a sip before sighing in contentment and leaned in and gave Mitchie another quick peck. She put her head on his shoulder while she took her drink from Tess.

Miley gave Nate his White Chocolate Milkshake and Jessica gave Christopher his frappe. There was definitely some chemistry between Miley and Nate. The house was a little less crowded than before, the HSM guys had an early call, but would be back later in the day.

Jake had some promotions he had to get to before flying out to a movie set later that evening for a couple of reshoots, so he wouldn't be back. Miley was a little upset at having their week together cut short, but he's had to put up with plenty of Hannah emergencies, so she had no right to complain.

Mitchie looked over to me and mouthed "How did it go, and are we ok?" I looked at her and gave her a big grin and thumbs up.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Asked Carter.

"Well, I'm getting my drivers license this morning!" Mitchie said excitedly. That's right, in all the excitement I forgot we made this appointment months ago, even though she didn't have a car she was looking forward to having a little more freedom.

"I'll come with you." Said Jason and Nate at the same time.

"Are you sure?" Asked Mitchie.

"Yep, we don't get to do normal stuff that often," said Chris.

"Well I'm not going," said Shane.

"What?" Said Mitchie giving him the puppy dog face.

"Don't give me that face. I love you, but I'd rather get my eyes poked out than go to the 7th circle of hell known as the DMV," Shane said.

Mitchie threw up her hands and said "Fine."

"In that case the girls and I are going to take a nap and then go shopping," said Caitlyn.

"Well Shane, since you are staying here, you and Mr. Torres can finally build my birdhouse," Jason said.

"For the last time I never promised I'd build you a birdhouse!"

Jason looked at Mitchie, "Mitch, please make Shaney Poo Bear, build my birdhouse."

Mitchie laughed. "Come on Shaney Poo, I was there when you promised Jason a birdhouse."

"No," said Shane.

"Please, you can do it for me…"

"No way."

"I don't know why you are with him, Mitch. He's a big meanee," said Chad, mocking both of them.

"Stay out of this. I don't see YOU volunteering to build Jason's Birdhouse…" Shane said, challenging Chad.

"Well, Shaney Poo, he's not my band mate nor brother from another mother," said Chad.

Shane threw up his hands in annoyance, "For the last time, my name is Shane, not Shaney Poo, Shaney Poo Bear or Shaney. It's S. H. A. N. E…." Ever since Chad started the Shaney Poo thing the day before, everyone started using variations of the nick name because they knew how much it irritated him.

"Come on Shaney, what's the big deal? You'll make Jason and me happy plus you can spend quality time with both my dads." Mitch said, laying it on thick.

"Leave me out of this," said Mr. Stewart who was putting the finishing touches on his breakfast brunch.

"No way. Telling me I'd spend time with both your dads, alone, isn't a bonus. Besides I have plans…"

"Yeah, like what?" Asked Mitchie, challenging him.

Then he walked over to me and threw an arm around my shoulder, "I'm taking my future baby mamma out on a date!" He proclaimed.

I was so embarrassed and must look like a tomato right now. I was speechless and couldn't say anything, me on a date with the Shane Grey. Yes, intellectually I knew he was kidding, but it's Shane freaking Grey! I thought I was used to this, but really, it's Shane Grey! OMG, OMG, OMG! It is my dream coming true. His arm is around me. ME! I hope the fact that I'm freaking out isn't showing and he smells just as heavily as I always imagined…

"What? You take my best friend out on a date when we haven't had a proper date yet? Should I be jealous?" Mitchie asked.

Truth was, Mitchie and Shane had planned this, he had some business he had to take care of and Mitchie thought it'd be a good idea if Sierra tagged along and had a chance to get to know the real Shane Grey. They will never be friends if she doesn't learn how to treat Shane like a human being.

"Yes," Shane said playfully.


End file.
